Gold Stars
by Stessa
Summary: It is New Years Eve and Gabriella Montez does not have a date. However, it is other thoughts that occupy her mind right now: Whatever happened to Sharpay Evans? A Gabpay one-shot.


**Gold Stars**

_A Gabriella and Sharpay New Years one-shot. _

Happy New Year!

--

Gabriella stared at herself in the mirror and took in her appearance. She scrunched her nose up slightly – she still wasn't feeling the magic. She just didn't understand why. She had gone through her list and everything seemed to be in the right place; everything seemed to be ready for the perfect evening with some people she hadn't seen face to face for a very long time.

Gorgeous dress. Check.

High heels. Check.

Perfect hair. Check.

With butterfly buckle. Check too.

Amazingly done makeup. Check.

Purse with all its contents. Check.

Gold stars earrings from her mother. _Check_.

Yes, all seemed to be very perfect indeed, but… Gabriella glanced to the side and stupidly lifted her hand out, as if wanting someone to take it. With the force of thought she tried to demand the perfect date to show up out of nowhere, but wasn't very surprised when her hand was still held up by her arm and not by someone else.

She let it fall again, to hang limply by her side, and stared herself right in the eye through the mirror in her mother's bedroom. "Happy New Year, Gabriella." She whispered, a sense of calamity falling upon her body, "You're going to have fun tonight. You're gonna see them all again…" she sighed heavily and forced a smile to her face.

She was going to make the best of this night; date or no date.

_help me, all people of the world  
before i lose my mind  
the new year is banged in by boy and girl  
why am i still the one  
who did not a partner find?  
clark sends his hello to us  
but if he just sent in the boys  
i say i'm there  
and so went the champagne corks  
and everyone is a pair_

Turned out, Ryan had invited practically all of the graduates of East High of their year – and most of them had showed up. Gabriella couldn't tell whether or not they missed anyone, it was only because Ryan had told her when she arrived that there were a few people he hadn't been able to get a hold of. A lot of those old East Highers had brought new friends or partners, and Ryan had also invited some of their old friends from the younger grades. Which meant that Jimmy, Donny and Tiara were there.

There were seriously many people in the Evans mansion but luckily they had enough room, so it was no problem really. They were in the ball room (who the fuck, Gabriella wondered, has a ball room?), and there were huge double doors which let straight to the terrace, which let to the garden, which, for the occasion, was lit with rows upon rows of pretty lights.

Gabriella wasn't having a very good time though. She had talked briefly with Ryan and now she sat on a chair in a corner by herself. She held a glass of wine in her hand and kept reaching for the ball of chips on the table. Taylor and Kelsi had been sitting with her before, but the both of them had gotten up to dance – Kelsi was dating Ryan now, they had been for a couple of months (finally they had gotten it together, Gabriella had to admit that), and Taylor had gotten up for a crazy dance with Chad. It was a long time since they had seen each other, and it was probably nice for them.

Gabriella did her best not to look at Troy. He was dancing in the middle of the dance floor. He had brought his new girlfriend and she was everything Gabriella was not. She went to his school and was the star of practically all the shows there. She was tall, blonde, big blue eyes, amazing curves and she danced like Jennifer Beals in _Flashdance_. Troy had fallen for her pretty quickly. The first month or so, their relationship her been alright, but they still didn't see each other that much, and one day, Troy had taken her completely off guard and told her that he had met someone else. It had hurt her, but there wasn't much she could do. She was just happy that he hadn't approached her to introduce them yet.

Gabriella glanced around the room again and tried to locate the ever glorious Sharpay Evans, but she couldn't find her anywhere. The one with the flashy clothes and the demanding tone was Tiara and Gabriella wondered why Sharpay hadn't come out of her room yet. She surely would not let Tiara get away with stealing the picture. It wasn't like Gabriella was anxious to see the blonde again and get trampled all over, but for some reason she really wanted to see if Sharpay had changed at all- in appearance or personality or _anything_.

Gabriella couldn't help but smile when she looked left and saw Jimmy coming towards her, asking every older woman on his way if she wanted to dance. Donny was behind him like a lost little puppet, but unfortunately for them both, Jimmy had no luck with the ladies. Eventually he seemed to give up, but Gabriella caught his eye and quickly waved him over there.

"Gabriella? Hey." Jimmy looked surprised, and he softly glanced behind himself to look at Troy, who was still dancing, before he fell into a spare chair. "I didn't think you'd… be here."

Gabriella smirked, "Just because of Troy? Hmff, I'm not that stupid. I can still have fun whether he's here or not."

Donny had taken a seat on another chair, but he didn't say a word. Gabriella offered him a small smile and he gave her one back. It was nice to see some familiar faces. They must know all the stuff that had happened within the past seven months or so. After all, they still lived in Albuquerque and they still went to East High.

She paused when she realized what she had just thought – they _did_ still live in Albuquerque, and Sharpay, where did she go to school? In Albuquerque! She was supposed to help Ms. Darbus out with school productions at East High. Maybe they'd know something? They'd have to. Perhaps Jimmy was still interested in theatre?

Gabriella couldn't explain the sudden interest in the former ice princess of East High, but she knew she was bored on New Years Eve and talking to Sharpay (if she ever got there) would certainly spice things up a bit. She was anxious to know how the blonde was doing and so.

"So, how's college life treating ya'?" Jimmy asked her, probably just to make conversation because he didn't look too interested. Gabriella could understand why; he had always been worshipping the ground beneath Troy's feet and she was his ex-girlfriend so it probably wasn't cool to talk to her.

Gabriella shrugged, "It's alright, exciting to learn new things and get on with my life, y'know?"

Donny seemed to agree for he nodded his head.

"How's the productions at East High going?" she asked now, feeling a rush in her stomach – maybe she'd learn more about Sharpay now.

Jimmy shrugged, "They're not as popular as they used to be. Tiara has pretty much taken over the theatre department. We couldn't be around her for weeks when she was crowned president."

This time, Donny did say something, "Yeah, and it's all because Sharpay Evans told Ms. Darbus that she wouldn't be able to help with productions anyway. Ms. Darbus had to do something about it, so she crowned Tiara president. It sucks big time."

Gabriella leaned back in the chair and took a sip of her wine. That was very surprising. Why on earth would Sharpay run away from an agreement like that? She'd always loved Ms. Darbus and the productions at East High. Why would she skip it when she had the chance to still meddle even after leaving the school? It didn't seem like a very Sharpay-ish thing to do. Now Gabriella really wanted to talk to her…

She looked up and caught sight of Ryan and Kelsi as they stood by the drinks table, seeming not to be able to choose what they wanted. She excused herself to Donny and Jimmy and quickly crossed the busy dance floor, meddling in between sweaty bodies. Kelsi looked up when she came and the smile on her face was huge.

"Hi Gab!" she cheered and gave her a sideways hug, "You having fun?"

Gabriella's mood couldn't help but lift slightly when she saw the smiles on Kelsi and Ryan's faces – they looked truly happy to see her and have her there, and she was happy to see them too, "Yeah, it's great."

Ryan poured another cup of something brown and pushed it into her hand, "Drink this instead, it's Cuba Caramel and Cocoa, it tastes awesome."

Gabriella laughed, "Thank you."

Kelsi's eyes glinted behind the glasses, "Anything you wanted in particular?"

Gabriella didn't exactly know how to begin, but she knew she really wanted to ask them where Sharpay was, and therefore just had to get it together and form a sentence. She traced the line of her plastic cup and looked up at Ryan, "I was just… Where's Sharpay?"

Alright, so okay, that wasn't the perfect sentence she had imagined, but at least she asked him.

Ryan looked up at her, his blue eyes shimmering weirdly beneath his patterned hat, "I wasn't able to get a hold of her." He flatly said, and Gabriella sensed that this was a sore subject for him, because Kelsi seemed to grab his hand and squeeze it very tight.

Gabriella wanted to know more though, and if he didn't want to talk about it, he could tell her and she would shut up, "Why? Don't you have her cell number? She's right in this town, isn't she?"

Ryan took in a deep breath and straightened himself up. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he got that far, a loud crash was heard from somewhere in the house, and he let go of Kelsi's hand and pushed his drink into it, "I gotta go, but I'll talk to you later, Gab."

They both looked after him when he ran off. Gabriella turned her head to look at Kelsi, but the small girl shot her a funny smile and said, "I better go help him. Remind us later Gab, we'll tell you. Something happened with the U of A."

And then she ran off with a drink in each hand to find her boyfriend. Gabriella was left, feeling very confused. Something happened with the University of Albuquerque? What exactly did Kelsi mean by 'happened'? That word held so many meanings. But it had to have something to do with Sharpay too since they mentioned it when she was what they talked about.

Gabriella took a sip of her drink and welcomed the cold liquor as it streamed down her throat. She downed the whole thing and carelessly dumped the plastic cup on the table.

What would she do now?

"Gabby!"

She turned around to find Taylor and Chad right behind her. They looked flustered after haven danced for a long time, and Chad immediately reached for a cup so he could get himself a drink.

"You having fun?" Chad asked her, but Gabriella's attention was not on him right now. Well, it kind of was, but not on the real him… Something just said click inside her head when she saw him – didn't Chad attend the U of A too?

"Gabby?" Taylor questioned, a worried look flashing across her face.

"Chad!" Gabriella exclaimed and managed to knock the drink out of his hand as she placed both hands on each a shoulder; she didn't even care though, her brown eyes met his worried ones, "Chad!? What happened with the U of A?!"

Chad looked at her, seeming very confused, "The U of A? Gabriella, what do you mean?"

"Kelsi said something happened with the U of A." Gabriella quickly exclaimed as she let her arms fall down limply again; she knew she had to calm down or they'd never get it, "And Sharpay. We were talking about Sharpay and the U of A."

It seemed like something dawned on Chad as a smile erupted on his face and he nodded so his big curls bounced, "Oh yeah… Sharpay and the U of A. Something happened, alright."

Gabriella felt excitement chill her body and she grinned, "What happened? I wanna know."

"You don't know?" Taylor butted in, a weird look across her face, "I've known for months. How come you don't know? Don't you speak with anyone?"

Gabriella's grin fell from her face, and now she was really curious and confused. If Taylor knew… it had to be big. But then why didn't _she_ know? Did everyone know except her? And what, what exactly did they and didn't she know? "What… what happened, Tay? Is she- is she alright?"

Taylor shrugged as she accepted the glass Chad handed her, "That's the point, no one knows."

"She fled the school half through the first day of the new school year." Chad continued to explain, a sad expression on his face, "I mean… We weren't exactly friends, but she was the only one I knew when we started so we talked a lot to each other as we got settled in our dorms." He sighed, "It was alright actually, but suddenly, as I was leaving a classroom to go have lunch, she stood in front of me, gave me a hug, said goodbye and just… left."

Gabriella was silent as she digested the sudden turn of events; when Kelsi said that something happened with the U of A she hadn't exactly imagined for Sharpay to have fled the school. This was really weird, it… it didn't seem like anything that Sharpay would really do. Not that she knew her so well, but she had always thought that acting was really something she wanted, and the University of Albuquerque had an okay theatre program.

Gabriella looked up again, "But…" she paused, not quite sure how to phrase herself, what to say, "But where is she now?"

Taylor shrugged again, "That's the point, no one knows. No one has spoken to her since Chad. She had packed some of her stuff and then she just marched out of campus – on her feet. No flashy, pink car, not even a cab, she simply just _walked_."

"But can't they figure out where she is?"

"Apparently she has her own bank account that no one else has access to. Mr. Evans has been putting money onto that one and Ryan's similar account since they were born." Taylor paused and sipped her drink slowly, before continuing, "She has enough money on there to survive a very long time. She could be anywhere in the world. She has her passport and everything. Mr. and Mrs. Evans didn't bother to search for her because they know she left herself and wasn't kidnapped or anything…"

"Wow," Gabriella whispered.

"They're just waiting for her to come back one day." Chad finished.

Gabriella smiled warmly at her two friends and reached for a bottle of Smirnoff as she turned and walked away from them. She needed time to think… This was so weird. Sharpay had just left college. Who did that sort of thing? Gabriella had to admit that it was hard going to college and it was boring at times, but she'd never leave for anything else. This was her ticket to her dream job – she couldn't ditch that. And it worried her that no one knew where Sharpay was. It seemed so surreal.

She took a seat in a free couch and sipped the bottle again and again. For some reason… she was suddenly very interested in Sharpay Evans.

_another year worn out  
the chances have been taken and dropped, but hey  
soon the countdown will begin  
and we'll get another one_

There was suddenly not very long until the new year started, Gabriella had to admit that. She was surprised when she saw how long she had been contemplating about Sharpay. Most of her former classmates were drunk now and some of them had left already. The small stage where the DJ had been playing all night was now occupied by Ryan as he tried to get them all to quiet down. Gabriella stood up so she could see him better, but she didn't want to elbow her way up front like some of her friends did.

"Hey, everyone!" Ryan happily said when everyone was quiet and their attention was mostly on him. Gabriella could see that a lot of them had troubles really seeing the point in this, but she wasn't nearly as drunk and she understood why Ryan, as the host, had to say a few things. This hadn't exactly been a cheap party, Gabriella was sure of that.

"I want to thank you all for the great evening, so far." Ryan continued in a low, hurried voice, "I couldn't get a hold of everyone, but most of us are here tonight and it has been awesome to see you again. I hope we might be able to do something like this some other time." he chuckled, "I've got more booze waiting for us and feel free to shoot off all the fireworks you will _out side_, not inside – Chad – because that _will_ ruin the floors…"

Gabriella was cut out of Ryan's speech when she heard the door go in the hall. She turned around slowly, curious to see who would be joining the party now – slightly afraid that it might be the police who had come to tell them to quiet down. But she was very surprised when she saw someone else peek into the room.

In all her glory, there was Sharpay Evans.

Gabriella felt a sense of excitement rush through her body as she locked eyes with Sharpay. The blonde winked at her, and Gabriella felt her hand cover her mouth in shock – Sharpay was _there_.

She zonked back out of her shock when Ryan was about to end his speech; "…and therefore, I guess I just want to thank you all for coming tonight, and-"

"You having a party without me, Ryan?"

Everyone in the entire room turned to see who had spoken, and Sharpay fully entered the room, which caused everyone to go quiet, however, Gabriella had gotten over the shock to actually see her there, and so she took in her appearance instead. Sharpay's blonde hair was in two braids, she had a couple of flower buckles in there too, along with a little, dark-red bow. She was wearing something so unusual Sharpay too… It got Gabriella all confused; she could easily see that it wasn't the same Sharpay Evans who stood before them as when they said goodbye last spring.

It sounded like Ryan almost didn't believe it, "Shar-Sharpay?"

"Yes, it's fucking me Ryan, don't sound like you just saw a ghost!"

And then Ryan jumped off of the small makeshift stage and rushed through the crowd that parted before him like had he been the 'old' Sharpay, and Sharpay dropped her rucksack on the floor with a thud and rushed to meet him in a deep hug. She jumped onto him and he took a few steps backwards, as she wrapped her legs around him with a squeal.

"What the crap are you doing here, Sharpay?" Ryan excitedly asked her, as they stood there, Sharpay still on top of him.

Sharpay now slid off of him and grabbed his hands tightly, "I wanted to see you, Ryan. It's Christmas and New Years Eve – you're my own twin brother. I couldn't not come home in the holidays."

Then it seemed like something just struck Ryan and he pushed her away slightly, "Where have you been!?" he demanded to know, voice harsh and rough. His eyes were still kind though and Gabriella knew he was too happy to see to get really mad at her.

Sharpay seemed very a where of the fact that everyone was practically watching them so she self-consciously rubbed her arm, "I don't wanna talk about that right now, Ryan. You'll get the story tomorrow, okay? I just wanna have fun tonight before the new year gets here."

Ryan took a step back from her and nodded. Sharpay nodded too and turned to gather up her rucksack. Everyone seemed to understand that the show was over and went back to their own business. But Gabriella couldn't look away. Sharpay had kneeled down next to her stuffed rucksack and was gathering something out of the first room. As she stood up again, and turned to leave the room, Gabriella knew she had to do something. She quickly hurried to catch up with her, and caught her already in the hall.

The blonde turned to look and seemed very surprised to find Gabriella there.

"Hey, Gabriella." She said and dropped her rucksack to the floor again, leaned herself against the side of the huge marvel staircase, "You look good."

Gabriella still hadn't gotten used to this entire new look (and personality?) of Sharpay's, but she did her best to cover it, "You look good too… different, but good." She couldn't help but giggle lowly, and she awkwardly rubbed both her arms like Sharpay had just done in the ball room.

"How's college?" the blonde was interested to know.

Gabriella shrugged, "It's alright, kinda boring, but alright." She didn't know what else to say, she didn't want to get into everything about Troy and his blonde bimbo, she just wanted to know more about Sharpay now, "What about you… I know you told Ryan, you didn't want to get into it, but… where have you been?"

Sharpay checked her wristwatch and bend down to grab her rucksack again, "You've got anyone you need to be with right now?"

Gabriella quickly shook her head, too excited to speak.

"Come with me and I'll tell you while I fix myself slightly." Sharpay told her, and waved Gabriella with her up the stairs. Gabriella followed quickly, almost slipping in her high heels. "That's why I dropped those high heels." Sharpay sheepishly told her with a look at them.

Gabriella smiled, "You've really changed."

"I certainly haven't changed that much. I was always like this, I just… I just wasn't around you guys." Sharpay said, as she opened the door to her room and they both stepped inside. Gabriella had never been there before, but it pretty much matched the pink nightmare she had expected, "Around anyone really. That's why I left, I got so tired of it all." Sharpay felt the need to add.

Gabriella stiffly took a seat on the bed, "So why did you flee the U of A? Explain it to me."

Sharpay turned her rucksack over and emptied the contents to the bed; it was a huge rucksack and it held a lot of different things; clothes, personal stuff, books, a small laptop – pretty much all one could need. "I didn't want to go to college and just be in school again. I guess my dream had been Julliard, and had I gotten in there, I would have done it, but… when that dream didn't work out, I decided to go for my other dream instead."

Gabriella was very intrigued by this whole other side of Sharpay and she found it brilliant to hear about this; it was so exhilarating, "You have another dream?"

Sharpay nodded as she started to sort all of her clothes away until she found a dark-purple coloured book. She sat down next to Gabriella, their thighs pressed against each other, and opened the first page, "It's a dream I've soon got fulfilled. Look at this," she placed her finger on the first page of the book and on top of it there were two words

Sharpay Evans

Gabriella felt her eyes grow big as she turned her head to look at Sharpay, "You wrote a _book_?" she exclaimed; not believing that this was really happening, it seemed too out-there, too farfetched to really be true.

Sharpay smiled proudly, "It's always been another dream of mine to write. So I just thought what the hell and went for it."

"But where have you been?" Gabriella asked, getting lost in all the small freckles carelessly scattered across Sharpay's nose; she was so tanned and her voice sounded so different. It was whole other person.

Sharpay closed the book and placed it gently on the bed again, "I've travelled around Europe. I've been to Spain, Greece, Italy, France, Denmark… I've been everywhere. I've stayed at fancy hotels and cheap motels, I've seen a lot of beautiful stuff… I've been writing." She locked eyes with Gabriella again, "It was so inspiriting to be there and I just… popped out this book within a couple of months."

Gabriella was still in awe, "Wow…" she whispered, amazed by her, amazed by Sharpay and everything she was.

"So I contacted an editor and publisher and they loved the book." Sharpay continued to explain, "This is only the first copy and the book will be released by the end of January."

"That is so amazing…" Gabriella whispered, feeling the excitement from the room downstairs, even if they were just the two of them and everything was so quiet and perfect, "You've accomplished so much already. All I've managed to do this year was go to school and lose my boyfriend."

Sharpay probably didn't want to comment on the boyfriend part, for she said, "Well, you've gotta go to school to get your dream."

Gabriella blinked, "You're probably right." she sighed, not sure of what else to say.

Sharpay blinked friendly at her as their eyes locked. Gabriella couldn't explain what it was, but she had such a different feeling in her body as she sat there with the blonde girl she hadn't seen for so long. It wasn't a familiar feeling but it was very much welcomed – she just couldn't explain what it was exactly. It just made her feel all wonderful and tingly.

Sharpay's eyes moved away from hers and two seconds later she heard the blonde gasp. She was confused for a second, before she felt her fingers on her ear. They were slightly cold, but Gabriella didn't even winch.

"I love your earrings." Sharpay breathed, stroking her thumb across one earring, briefly touching Gabriella's ear too.

Gabriella loved her earrings too; they meant the world to her. It was the most expensive gift her mother had ever been able to afford so it had sentimental value. That and, of course also, the fact that they were extremely beautiful and just one of a kind.

Gabriella felt her face light up, "Thank you, they're-"

"…gold stars." Sharpay finished her sentence with a quiet voice, even if that wasn't what Gabriella had wanted to let her know. She had wanted to say that they were from her mother, but she guessed that Sharpay's finish was true too – the earrings were gold stars.

Gabriella felt Sharpay's hand drop from her ear and the blonde let their eyes meet again, "They're really special, right?" she wanted to know.

Gabriella couldn't explain her look; there was something odd about the way Sharpay was eyeing her, and it made her slightly worried. She wouldn't exactly say that she felt uncomfortable but suddenly she had the urge to get up and leave and she couldn't explain why. She rather liked the feeling, but was scared by it too. She opened her mouth to reply to Sharpay, but couldn't say anything. Instead she cleared her throat and lowly got another sentence out, "Do you wanna go downstairs, now I won't have to hang alone?"

Sharpay looked really confused for a second but suddenly she seemed to snap out of it, and the blonde almost fell of off the bed. She awkwardly looked around and reached for a piece of clothing in the pile on her bed, "Do you mind if I just change real quick?" she asked Gabriella, acting completely normal, as if the moment on the bed hadn't happened, "I probably don't smell too good." She added.

Gabriella just shook her head, still feeling very weird about the incident before. She didn't know what had happened and she felt like she shouldn't really ask. It was one of those times were she completely hated being Gabriella Montez for she was very clueless at times – she always had been. Now, if she had been Taylor she would probably have had the guts to voice her concerns, or she'd know exactly how to explain the tickling in her fingers and in her stomach.

As Sharpay pulled her head out of another flower-patterned t-shirt, Gabriella shook it off, "You ready to party?" she grinned.

_the world is spinning quickly fast  
i'm dancing with myself  
spiced and ready to have a blast  
high heels squeezing bad  
a dud says goodbye, what else  
why is everyone leaving so soon?  
i reach for the one – the new years bang  
the fuse is at end  
two looks turn on the fire  
we slowly sneak away_

Even if Sharpay had every possibility to leave Gabriella alone and go talk to some other, probably more exciting person, she didn't do it; she stayed by Gabriella the entire time and eventually they sat down with each a glass of something blue. The moment on the bed seemed forgotten and Gabriella felt that she was also completely back to normal, which she really appreciated.

Gabriella looked at her again, and she knew why she was so anxious to be near her, to talk to her, "So? What's your book about?" she asked the soon to be published writer.

Sharpay was quiet for a few seconds, a thoughtful look screwed across her beautiful face, "It's… about love, and friendship, and finding understanding in someone. It's about daring to be different, and doing what your heart tells you to no matter what the world says."

Gabriella didn't quit get it; so far she had heard what it was all about, but when she really meant was… what happens to the main character? What journey does that person have to go through? Sure, all that other stuff was very nice, but she didn't get that. She wasn't a writer, and when it came to finding hidden things in texts, she was never good at it. She'd always failed to find the bigger picture in everything they had read in school – Oscar Wilde, Herman Bang… all. She just didn't _get_ it.

Perhaps Sharpay saw how confused she looked, for the blonde girl decided to elaborate, "Look, you've ever seen _The Incredible True Adventures of Two Girls in Love?_" she paused, "No? With that blonde chick from _The L Word… _Laurel Holloman? She's awesome. You ever saw it?"

Gabriella shook her head, still as confused. But the title of the movie had gotten her attention though. "I'm not really sure."

Sharpay downed the last of her drink and carelessly dumped the plastic cup to the floor, "It's about…" she paused and stared into space for a few seconds, before she looked at Gabriella again, and said, "…two girls… in love."

Gabriella couldn't help the smile that came to her face there, and she inwardly applauded Sharpay, "That's awesome. Kudos to you for writing something like that!"

Sharpay smirked, "I thought it was about time that someone really did. After all, people can be very narrow-minded and I think it's about all I've had of it. Y'know, in some European countries they aren't as bad as here. Two girls or two guys could actually walk on the street, hand in hand, without getting trashed by a bunch of idiots. Sure, that happens here too, but there's always those looks… They don't happen there, if ya' know what I mean?" the blonde got quiet again and offered Gabriella a sincere smile, "Well, you probably don't, but just try to imagine."

"I can imagine." Gabriella whispered, because she had always felt a certain pang in her heart when she saw something like that happen – that was why she was a member of the _secret _gay and lesbian club on her college. She had always been one of those supporters, just an inactive member, she hadn't been with a girl… _yet_.

She had always been planning on changing that.

"Really?" Sharpay asked, and her face lit up with a certain glow, "You can? That why you and Bolton broke up? Did you jump out of the closet?" she then guffawed and Gabriella couldn't help but join her.

The Latina said, "That's not why we broke up, and I haven't exactly dared to take the jump yet, but I… I really wanna try some day. Not that I don't like boys." She wriggled her eyebrows for good measure, and Sharpay scooted closer to her on the couch.

The blonde leaned in close, pressing her lips to her ear, before she whispered, "I wrote from personal experience, you know…" she paused, still not moving away, and Gabriella held in her breath, stiff as a board, because Goosebumps had risen all over her skin, and suddenly her New Years Eve wasn't bad, and she was sure that she had a kindasorta-date, "I met this amazing girl in England. I stayed there for a long time and we had a good time together… I was sad when I had to go. The book is dedicated to her."

Gabriella turned her head slightly and pulled back, so their faces were inches apart, their noses almost touching. "So you're out already?"

The blonde closed her eyes for a second and Gabriella found her irresistible, "Mhm…"

There was nothing more Gabriella wanted to do than to kiss her right there on the couch and get the magic feeling she was sure would erupt. She just had the feeling that whatever she and Sharpay might do together, it would be heavenly. She had been wondering all evening about that certain New Years thing everyone was supposed to do, and now she had the chance to really go for it… She had a feeling Sharpay wouldn't mind it that much, even if there was a possibility that it would be nothing more than just that – a kiss.

"Can I kiss you at twelve o'clock?" Sharpay now whispered, opening her eyes again, as she locked them with Gabriella's and brown met browner.

Gabriella leaned forward so their foreheads were pressed against each other, "Very much…" she said, feeling her breath slightly jagging in her throat, anticipation floating through her veins, "I've been wondering about that since you stepped into this room earlier."

_another year worn out  
the chances have been taken and dropped, but hey  
soon the countdown will be done  
and we'll get another one_

There wasn't very long until the clock would strike twelve and the ball would drop. Gabriella and Sharpay had been filling the other with alcohol for the past hour or so; they had had an awkward meeting with Troy and his bimbo, and practically tried to avoid everyone else so they could be with each other.

The music was slow as the DJ played a couple's song, and they were dancing together, wrapped up in each other, and Gabriella couldn't explain what it was. She had experienced love a few times before; there had been Troy, obviously, and this other dude she had tried to date from school, but eventually blown it with. This was so different, though. There was something about the way Sharpay's soft hands brushed from her naked arms and to her waist, and the way her breath felt across the skin of her neck. It made her want nothing more than to sneak away and just lock them up in Sharpay's bedroom, only to come out when this magical night was over.

"The new year will be here in less than five minutes." Sharpay whispered, her breath tickling Gabriella's face as she moved her head to lock eyes with her, "Do you wanna stay or just get the fuck out of here?"

Gabriella knew exactly what she wanted to do, and she knew that Taylor had been watching them oddly for the past ten minutes or so, but she didn't care one bit, because she just wanted this. She lowered her head slightly, for she had the height advertence in her heels, and pressed her lips against Sharpay's pink ones. It was a magic sensation that started pricking at her lips and eventually soared throughout her body and ended in a lower part, where the tingling made her crazy.

Their lips parted, their tongues fought and the clock was ticking and ticking. Sharpay pulled back again and grabbed her hand tightly.

"Come on…" she whispered, and let Gabriella out of the room, slowly sneaking away; she was let up the huge staircase and into Sharpay's room, excitement pricking throughout her entire body. Her heart beat fast and she didn't know whether or not she was dreaming because the feeling she got was almost too good to be real.

Sharpay turned them around slightly so they were standing face to face, only lit by the light coming from her huge window – moonlight and fireworks. Her bedside clock showed _11:59_ and Gabriella reached a hand up to touch Sharpay's cheek gently. "What will happen tomorrow?" she breathed, her eyes digging deeply into the dept of Sharpay's.

The blond shakily breathed out, and Gabriella knew that she had an equal tough time trying to restrain herself; waiting in anticipation of what would happen, "I don't know…" she whispered, eyes moving slightly from side to side, first looking into Gabriella's right eye, then the left, and then the right again, "We'll see…"

And as the countdown begun downstairs, their lips locked again and fireworks erupted behind Gabriella's eyes as if had she been outside staring at the sky. Her clumsy, inexperienced fingers searched for a bit of clothing she could pull off of Sharpay's body, as the blonde had already managed to zip down her dress. Gabriella couldn't tell how her night had ended up like this, but she was sure that no one in this house had had a better night than she. She just hoped it all wouldn't end tomorrow.

_a mouth whispers a promise this night  
in the dark it's as bright as the sun  
the colour of the sky is bliss  
they explode in a lovers' kiss_

Gabriella woke up with the feeling of something warm against her skin. It was the presence of another human being, close to her body and her heart, and she had never experienced that before. She didn't dare to open her eyes in case it might still be 2008 and it had all been a dream. Instead she lifted her arm gently and let her fingers wander across bare skin, enjoying the soreness of every limp of her body. It was a good kind of soreness, and she wished she could feel that every morning for the rest of her life.

Something breathed out deeply next to her, and now she was almost certain that it wasn't a dream, and therefore she dared to open her eyes and found herself staring at the white ceiling in Sharpay's bedroom. A huge smile appeared on her face without her control and she turned over slightly, to find a mess of blonde hair, pink covers and ivory limbs. She hid her face in the pillow for a second to hide her giggle so she wouldn't wake Sharpay, and thereafter just looked at her with love shining through her eyes. Their clothes were scattered across the white, fluffy carpet and Gabriella enjoyed every second of this morning.

She wished it wouldn't end; she wished that she didn't have to leave this room later. Because tomorrow she would have to get back to Stanford and Sharpay would do whatever she had planned… They wouldn't be together, and that was a blow in Gabriella's sudden happiness; after being down for so many months, she wasn't quite ready to leave her happiness in Albuquerque when she left again.

Sharpay's eyes started fluttering and suddenly Gabriella was scared to face her again; for so many reasons. It meant that their parting would be closer, it meant that she would have to face Sharpay after having given her every part of herself. She wasn't quite sure if she was ready to handle that or not. So Gabriella held her breath as Sharpay opened her eyes fully, immediately locking them with Gabriella's. The Latina soon learned though, that she had had nothing to fear; a smile came to Sharpay's face and the blonde simply said, "Hi."

Gabriella let go of her breath and couldn't help but smile back, "'Morning."

Sharpay reached a hand out and softly brushed one of Gabriella's curls aside, "Thank you for last night, Gabriella." She mumbled, sounding honestly sincere, "I had a wonderful time."

Gabriella had troubles getting her sentence out because there were so many things she wanted to ask Sharpay about; so many things she needed to have answered, but for right now, she'd just have to enjoy the moment, "So did I… An amazing time, actually."

The blonde had a huge glint in her eyes, "Did you and Troy ever get down and dirty?" she questioned, which caught Gabriella a bit off guard. It wasn't exactly the question she had thought Sharpay would ask, but she had learned from last night that Sharpay had a bigger reason and that there was a bigger picture; she was pretty poetic and she needed answers to give answers.

Gabriella bit her lip then, and said, "No. I've never been with anyone… before."

Sharpay let her hand wander beneath the covers, and Gabriella could feel that it came to rest on her own waist and it made her shiver like the night before, because as she lay there right now, she thought that she might really fall in love with this woman, "So you're a Gold Star." The blonde continued, brushing Gabriella gently across her skin.

Gabriella cocked an eyebrow and whispered, in confusion, "Gold Star?"

"Someone who has only ever had sex with a person of the same gender." Sharpay quickly explained, and before Gabriella could even open her mouth to ask her if she had ever slept with a boy, Sharpay answered herself, "I'm a Gold Star too." She whispered, and let a finger brush Gabriella's earlobe again, where her earring was still pinned safely.

Gabriella let a soft giggle escape her lips, partly from the situation, partly from the tickle on her ear, "We're just a couple of Gold Stars then."

"_And that ain't half bad_." Sharpay lowly sang, which caused Gabriella to laugh softly again.

A comfortable silence erupted between the two, and Gabriella spent the time trying to count the barely visible freckles across Sharpay's nose while the blonde's fingers drew circles at her waist.

Gabriella had counted as far as to seventeen when Sharpay broke the silence between them. "When are you leaving for Stanford? Maybe we can hang out before…"

Gabriella sighed; she didn't want to talk about Stanford and school when she had this wonderful dream she really needed to be a part of. But unfortunately for her she couldn't change her education, because that would change her life, and she had had about enough of life changing decisions for now, "Tomorrow." She sadly said, "I'm leaving already tomorrow."

Sharpay stared briefly at the mattress, "Oh…" she mumbled, before she looked up again and continued, "I was kinda hoping to see more of you before."

Gabriella swallowed loudly; she had to ask, she wouldn't know if she didn't ask about it. Maybe they could still see each other once in a while, maybe they could visit each other during breaks, "Can't we see each other after I get back to school? I really wanna see you, Sharpay, I'm not… I'm ready to say goodbye, not after this, I think… I think I might fall in love with you."

The blonde got an extremely affectionate look across her face as the words escaped Gabriella's mouth, and the Latina didn't even care that she was vulnerable and that she could possibly make a fool out of herself, she just wanted to make sure, to know; she was desperate, "Really?"

"Yeah."

"No one has ever said anything like that to me before…"

Gabriella wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not, so she just didn't reply.

Sharpay licked her lips, "If I spend just a bit more time with you… I think I could fall in love with you too." She revealed, and Gabriella's heart started beating faster again, and she swore that her smile had never been bigger before.

She laughed warmly and rolled onto her back, Sharpay doing the same so they were both staring at the ceiling, "Then can we?" she continued to ask Sharpay, hoping that they could work this out; she had never felt freer, she was naked in a bed with a wonderful girl right next to her, "Can we work this out?"

Sharpay was quiet as she studied the ceiling for a few seconds, but then slowly said, "You go to Stanford… I can write anywhere."

Gabriella held her breath.

"I can write anywhere, Gabriella. I could get a flat right outside the grounds and we could be together." Sharpay paused again, probably to think it all over, and Gabrielle refused to breathe before she knew what the answer would be, "I'll only have to do a book tour that my publisher has planned, but we _could_ be together if I got myself a flat." She turned her head to the side, and Gabriella followed right after so they were looking at each other, "I think I'm gonna get myself a flat."

And then Gabriella let her breath out, "Really?"

"Totally seriously incredibly really." Sharpay mocked her in a bad British accent.

Gabriella squealed and leaned over, softly pressing her lips against Sharpay's. It was only a brief lip lock and she pulled back again, their faces inches apart, "I won't expect anything from you. We'll just… spend time together and see where it takes us."

Sharpay blinked, "I'd love that."

Just then there was a knock on the door and the two girls sat up straight, staring at the door, which wasn't locked at all, "Sharpay!?" it was Ryan through the door, "Sharpay? The guys are here and we can't find Gabriella. Taylor says she saw you two leave together last night?"

Gabriella turned to look at Sharpay with wide eyes and bit her lip to hide a girly giggle.

Ryan did not leave, he continued, "Did you go out to drink some more or something? It's just… we're slightly worried."

Sharpay covered Gabriella's mouth with her hand and whispered, "If I don't reply, maybe he'll think I'm not here."

Gabriella felt happiness and laughter bubble within her and she didn't give a frigging frack if they knew; she was too happy to care. Because when she left Albuquerque again tomorrow, she would be taking something amazing with her.

"Sharpay!?" Ryan tried through the door again, "I know you're in there, I'm – I'm coming in," and before the two girls could do anything, Ryan was pushing the door open, "Taylor swore she saw you together last night, and I-" just then he caught sight of the two surprised girls in the bed and for a moment he seemed unable to speak, but then a mischievous grin came to his face and he turned his head towards the hallway and hollered, "GUYS! I FOUND HER!"

Before either Gabriella or Sharpay could do anything, a bunch of faces were shown in the doorway to Sharpay's room, and they all looked surprised and shocked. Gabriella and Sharpay stared at them for a few seconds, before both girls turned to look at the other, and as if on cue, they ducked beneath the pink cover of Sharpay's bed.

_There_ they broke into a fit of giggles.

* * *

_Hello everybody, and thanks for reading! I wanted to jump back onto the Gabpay train after a couple of months absence and I had this idea, and decided to just go for it. I do hope you enjoyed it. Leave me a review, please, and happy new years!_

_**Disclaimer; **__I don't own High School Musical, The Incredible True Adventures of Two Girls in Love, Flashdance or The L Word. _


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